226 NEW BOOKS. 



South African Institutk of Elfctmcal Engineers. — Thursday, 

 February 19th: Mr. W. E. Dew, President, in the chair. — Presidential 

 address : W. E. Dew. The address dealt with the Institute and its work, 

 and suggested the compilation of a record of all the important informa- 

 tion respecting details, alterations and reports on the general workings of 

 concerns dependent upon electric i)ower. 



Thursday, March 19th : Mr. W. E. Dew, President, in the chair. — 

 " Impressions of my American tour " J. W. Kirkland. A summary of 

 observations made by the author in regard to the generation of electric 

 power, and various developments of its application in the United States. 



Chemical^ Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa. — 

 Saturday, February 21st: A. Richardson, M.I.M.M., President, in the 

 chair. — " A method of assaying concentrates and battery chips for gold 

 and platinum metals" ; A. F". Crosse. .\ method for determining gold, pla- 

 tinum and osmiridium in ores, concentrates, etc.. was detailed. 



Saturday, March 2rst: Prof. G. H. Stanley. A.R.S.M., M.I.M.E., 

 F.I.C.. Vice-President, in the chair. — " Relation of falls of roof in col- 

 lieries on the Middellnirg Coalfield to weather changes " : C. J. Gray. 

 It was found, on comparing the annual accident rates with the year's 

 rainfall, and the number of accidents in particular months during a period 

 of seven years, that a decrease in the annual rainfall corresponded with 

 an increase in liability to accident from falls of roof in the collieries, and 

 vice versa, and that this liability was almost certainly much greater in the 

 dry winter months than in the summer months. While both annually and 

 seasonalh' the accident rates change in a reverse direction to the rainfall, 

 they also change seasonally in a reverse direction to the temperature and 

 annually in a reverse direction to the atmospheric humidity. 



South African Society of Civil Engineers. — Wednesday, March 

 nth: F. O. Stephens, M.I.C.E., President, in the chair. — Presidential 

 address : F. O. Stephens. The address dealt with railway surveys and 

 surveying engineers, particularly referring to their duties and bearing on 

 the cost of the undertaking. The temporary character of the employment 

 of engineers on railway survey work was criticised as tending neither to 

 the well-being of the profession nor to the l)est service of the country. 

 There are mainly two railway systems in South Africa — the South African 

 Railways, with a capital of 81] million pounds sterling, and the Rhodesian 

 and Beira Railways, with a capital of 16 millions. These, it was consi- 

 dered, should be able to afford a small permanent department of expe- 

 rienced engineers for running preliminary surveys. It was also argued 

 that in the past there had not been sufficient surveys made, nor had the 

 rract of country to be crossed been sufficiently studied before the construc- 

 tion of a line was started. 



Cape Chemical Society. — Friday, March 27th : Prof. R. [Nlarloth, 

 M.A., Ph.D., President, in the chair. — " Notes on some indigenous and 

 other fodder plants " : Dr. C. F. Juritz. A table of 70 analyses was given, 

 mcluding both fresh and dried plants of various kinds. These were com- 

 mented on and compared with analyses of similar plants in other countries. 

 It was suggested that in view of the wealth of fodder plants indigenous to 

 the country, labour spent in the introduction of such plants from abroad 

 was to a great extent needless. Particular attention was given to the 

 feeding value of certain species of Euphorbia. Opiiiitia (Prickly Pear), 

 and Kaffir melons (Tsamma and Monketaan). experimental cultivation 

 of tlie latter having yielded from 180 to 300 tons of melons per acre, the 

 potential yield of oil from the pips amounting to from 700 tc 1,200 lbs. 

 per acre. 



NEW BOOKS. 



Letcher, O. — The bonds of Africa : impressions of travel and sport from 

 Cape Tozvn to Cairo. 1902-1912. 9 X Sh in. pp. 267. ?vTaps and 

 illus. London: John Long, Ltd. 1913. 12s. 6d. net, 



Gill, Sir David. — .-/ history and description of the Royal Observatory, 

 Cape of Good Hope. 15 X n in. pp. cxc. 1.16. Maps, plan, illus. 

 London: Published by the Admiralty. 191,^. 



